This past sunny, hot weekend, thousands of Angelenos took to the mountains and beaches for hiking, biking, rollerblading and jogging. Many of these people likely had a moment when they looked around with a smile and thought, wow, what a life we live here, how lucky we are, compared to the unlucky folk of the East Coast, where they are inundated with one cold winter storm after another, have to shovel snow from their driveways daily, and dress in half a dozen layers while we go outdoors in tank-tops and shorts.

Burbank’s McCambridge Pool is closed for winter, as it usually is when the summer swim season ends. As usual, the water’s been drained away to make way for maintenance work and painting, but this year something’s different.
Rather...

Having recently made legal claims to historical gas and mineral rights under vast tracts of British land, the Church of England has taken a position against those who oppose hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the process of breaking up rock...

Animal control officers on Tuesday rescued two malnourished mountain lion cubs that were hiding under a parked car in Burbank — but not before one resident reportedly tried hitting them with a broomstick.
The cubs weigh 5 pounds each and were taken...

Am I the only person who remembers reading and being shocked by the L.A. Times Pulitzer prize-winning three-part expose of Walmart, published in 2003, titled “The Wal-Mart Effect”?
I suggest anyone on the fence in the “let-‘em-in...

The only thing missing at the reunion for Boy Scout Troop 201 was a roaring campfire and marshmallows. But at least there was plenty of pizza, skits by the boys and river-rafting stories.
About 100 Boy Scouts past and present, parents, siblings and friends gathered on Sunday at the Magnolia Park United Methodist Church for the first alumni event, which was organized by Giselle Vivado and Joylyn Spencer.
Ethan Durkee and Nick Rogus were deeply involved in their skit, called “Wild West Shootout.&...

This week, the community has spoken, and two emaciated mountain lion cubs rescued off the streets of Burbank are one step closer to getting names.
Readers will have until Monday to vote on the top six names submitted.
The cubs, referred to as No. 1 and No. 2, are being rehabilitated at Zoo to You, a nonprofit conservation and educational organization based in Paso Robles. The cubs will likely make appearances at schools and universities and need real names, says David Jackson, Zoo to You's director....

After more than 100 people submitted nearly 200 possible names for the two mountain lion cubs rescued in Burbank last month, these two names were your favorite: Olive and Magnolia.
Readers voted in an online poll where Olive and Magnolia took the top spot with 125 votes. LaserFur and the Fangster came in second with 57 votes, Scratchy and Itchy with 45, Lucy and Ethel with 38, Hope and Carson with 34, and Willow and Laurel with 24, respectively.
David Jackson, the executive director of Zoo to You, where...

Oversight measures, new commanders and the possibility of more officers — change is a constant at the Burbank Police Department, including, officials say, to its website.
In addition to all the internal changes, police officials say they plan to revamp their major public portal online, including integrating social media to better communicate with residents. As of Tuesday, the most recent crime statistics available online were for 2009 to 2010.
In an interview earlier this year, Police Chief...

I am so glad to see the Nov. 9 story, “Bike collisions on the rise,” as I'm hoping there is someone out there that might offer free bicycle traffic tips or a class in the community.
I was recently driving down Whitnall Highway and made a complete stop at the Chandler bike intersection. Seeing no pedestrians, vehicles or bicycles at the time, I proceeded across.
To my right, a bicyclist who was speeding down the path came to a screeching halt, flipped me off, and screamed that I should have...

A mountain lion was reported roaming in a commercial area Thursday night in the northeastern San Fernando Valley, police told The Times.
A caller said the animal was behind a building in the 10900 block of Pendleton Street, near Sunland Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
A patrol car cruised the area but did not see the cat. No other details were immediately available.
-- Andrew Blankstein (twitter.com/anblanx) and Robert J. Lopez (twitter.com/LAJourno), Los Angeles Times

The California bullet train is promoted as an important environmental investment for the future, but over the next decade the heavy construction project would potentially harm air quality, aquatic life and endangered species across the Central Valley.
Eleven endangered species, including the San Joaquin kit fox, would be affected, according to federal biologists. Massive emissions from diesel-powered heavy equipment could foul the already filthy air. Dozens of rivers, canals and wetlands fed from the...